MANAGERIAL VACANCY Cubs aren't shy in courting Baker

Dusty Baker would be an instant presence with his familiar toothpick and ability to relate to players.
CHICAGO (AP) -- If Dusty Baker needs an enormous challenge after his successful 10-year run with the San Francisco Giants, the Chicago Cubs appear willing to provide it.
Cubs general manager Jim Hendry called Baker on Thursday, one day after the Giants announced Baker, who led them to the World Series, wouldn't be returning as manager.
Hendry and Baker will talk early next week, either Monday or Tuesday.
"We had a nice conversation for 10-to-15 minutes. He's getting ready to go out of town on a hunting trip," Hendry said Thursday night from Arizona.
Filling a vacancy
Hendry said there was no timetable, but it's obvious the Cubs are zeroing in on the man they want to run their team.
"We want to get the right guy. We certainly expressed our interest to Dusty and he seems interested in us. Hopefully we'll move forward at a good rate," Hendry said.
Among those Hendry has already interviewed are Bob Melvin, Ken Macha, Buck Showalter and Fredi Gonzalez. Macha will manage Oakland and Showalter will guide Texas next season.
The Cubs were in no hurry to fill the vacancy because they wanted to see what would happen once Baker's contract with the Giants ran out.
"I think my actions have spoken. We wanted to wait. He did a great job in San Francisco," Hendry said. "He's a winner, a proven winner and a very positive guy. He would be a quality manager."
Hendry said the meeting would take place somewhere in the West because Baker lives in California.
Credentials
A three-time NL Manager of the Year, the 53-year-old Baker would be an instant presence with his familiar toothpick and ability to relate to players and maximize their talents.
He would be Chicago's sixth manager since 1992 and the fourth since Jim Riggleman -- now a candidate for the Seattle vacancy -- was fired after the 1999 season.
Don Baylor was fired last July and interim manager Bruce Kimm was let go at the end of a dismal 67-95 season -- Chicago's third 90-loss campaign in the last four years.
Despite their long legacy of losing, the Cubs could be attractive for several reasons.
The Tribune Co. that owns the team could afford and be willing to give Baker a significant salary boost, and the Cubs have a strong young pitching staff that includes Kerry Wood, Mark Prior and Matt Clement.
There's also a superstar who puts up big statistics in Sammy Sosa, and Baker's got plenty of experience handling egos after dealing with Barry Bonds for a decade.
And Chicago plays in one of baseball's best parks. Wrigley Field, surrounded by a neighborhood, features ivy-covered brick walls and a rabid fandom that likes to party. There's no McCovey's Cove, but Lake Michigan with its icy April wind is just down the street about a mile.
Plus, he could still manage the NL team in the All-Star game next summer, in Chicago at Comiskey Park.
GM's backing
"No manager in baseball is more popular than Dusty," Giants general manager Brian Sabean said. "That's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be engaged with somebody like that."
Baker's task would include developing young players like Corey Patterson, Bobby Hill and Hee Seop Choi and being competitive in a division that includes the St. Louis Cardinals and NL Manager of the Year Tony La Russa, whom the Giants beat this year in the NLCS.